Hip pathology in the adolescent athlete.

Hip injuries in young athletes are being diagnosed with increasing frequency. Improvements in diagnostic imaging and surgical technologies have helped facilitate the diagnosis of intra- and extra-articular derangements that were previously untreated in this age group. Athletic injuries of the hip in the young athlete encompass both osseous and soft-tissue etiologies, which can be the result of a single traumatic event or repetitive microtrauma or may be associated with an underlying pediatric hip disorder. Without accurate diagnosis and management, these injuries may result in debilitating consequences. This article will review the more common causes of hip and groin pain in the adolescent athlete, as well as advances in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the skeletally immature athlete: diagnosis and management.

Intrasubstance anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in children and adolescents were once considered rare occurrences, with tibial eminence avulsion fractures generally regarded as the pediatric ACL injury equivalent. However, with increased single-sport focus, less free play, and year-round training at younger ages, intrasubstance ACL injuries in children and adolescents are being diagnosed with increased frequency. As in the adult, a knee devoid of ligamentous stability predisposes the pediatric patient to meniscal and chondral injuries and early degenerative changes. Management of ACL injuries in skeletally immature patients includes physeal-sparing, partial transphyseal, and complete transphyseal ACL reconstruction. Complications include iatrogenic growth disturbance resulting from physeal violation.